Daughter of the Bone Setter

Author: Amy Tan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-02-01
Features: Since Amy Tan, a Chinese-American writer, published her breakthrough novel The Joy Luck Club in 1989, she has long transcended the identity of a minority or popular fiction writer, becoming one of the most renowned first-class writers in the United States and the West. The Bonesetter's Daughter is Amy Tan's fourth novel, published in 2001, and can be considered her most autobiographical work, deeply and movingly depicting the relationship between Chinese immigrant mothers and daughters. Mother Ruthie suffers from Alzheimer's disease and records her life story and family secrets to prevent forgetting. Daughter Ruthie is a ghostwriter who, after living with her boyfriend for ten years, finds herself in a low point in both her career and love life. Through her mother's narrative, we witness the rise and fall of a family of ink-making artisans in the suburbs of Beijing, the excavation of Beijing's bones, the tragic experiences of Ruthie's birth mother, who was a bone-setting doctor, and how Ruthie's sisters survived national and familial hardships, eventually leaving behind their past pains and arriving in America through arduous journeys. After reading her mother's records, the daughter comes to understand her mother's past, recognizes the awkwardness and struggles in her mother's personality, and thus forgives her mother's past hurts toward her. She reflects on the mistakes she made in her youth and delves deeper into the issues within her own character. As a result, her relationships with her mother and her boyfriend are ultimately reconciled. With the guidance of her ancestors, Ruthie also finds the motivation to give up ghostwriting and begin writing for herself and her family, telling their stories. This book revolves around the conflicts and reconciliation between two generations of Chinese immigrant mothers and daughters. The novel is divided into three parts: the first part focuses on the life of Ruthie Young, a female writer in San Francisco. The second part shifts to the first-person perspective, narrated by Ruthie's mother, Ruthie. The third part returns to Ruthie's perspective.